A well rounded veteran point guard who does a little bit of everything (avg. 22 pts, 5 rebs, 6 asts, 2 stls per game), but doesn’t separate himself from the others in any specific area. His best quality is his leadership skills. Cole looks to be a solid point guard.

9. Shelvin Mack, Butler, 6-2, 205, Jr.

He is more of a scorer instead of a true point guard. A very streaky shooter who can create his own shot, but needs to improve at attacking the rim. He’s neither the fastest nor most athletic guy. His best quality is his high basketball IQ. Shows great composure in pressure situations which is very promising.

8. Josh Shelby, Kansas, 6-3, 195, Fr.

A very raw player, but shows a lot of potential. A boom-or-bust pick, imo. He is a very athletic combo guard. Has a good shot and can finish at the rim. He will need to improve on his passing abilities and turnovers. If he can show efficiency and consistency, Shelby can turn out to be one heck of a player.

7. Reggie Jackson, Boston College, 6-3, 200, Jr.

He has an incredible 7-foot wingspan making him a solid defender. Has great athletic ability to finish at the rim. Shows versatility allowing him to play the combo guard as well. He will need to work on his jump-shooting as that is his biggest weakness.

6. Nolan Smith, Duke, 6-3, 189, Sr.

A smart player who can fill the stat sheet with his all-around game. A solid defender. He can play the combo guard as well. Not only does he have a high basketball IQ, but he has a lot of experience from staying four years at Duke. Has the ability to be an underrated player in this draft.

5. Jimmer Fredette, BYU, 6-2, 196, Sr.

The reigning College Basketball Player of the Year, but there are a lot of questions regarding if he can translate as a true point guard in the NBA. He’s a pure scorer and can drain from anywhere on the court. Has trouble creating for others and some turnover issues. His skill set looks to fall more into the shooting guard category.

4. Darius Morris, Michigan, 6-4, 190, So.

Arguably the most improved player in the 2010-11’ NCAA basketball season. He is an excellent passer as he led the Big Ten in assists with nearly 7 a game. He is a pass-first point guard, but has great scoring ability as well. Possesses great size and an excellent first step to blow by his opposition. Will definitely need to improve his 3-pt shooting. His athleticism, size and potential makes him a great prospect.

3. Brandon Knight, Kentucky, 6-3, 177, Fr.

He was a blue-chip player coming out of high school and shows tremendous potential. Still very young with great upside. Has great size and at times can be the best athlete on the floor. Possesses an NBA ready jump-shot, but will need to do a better job at running an offense and creating for his teammates. Every though he is a great scorer, there were times in which he disappeared in games completely whenever he wasn’t making plays. Will have to work on cutting down his turnovers since his turnover/assist ratio was below average. His game will most likely translate into the shooting guard position.

2. Kemba Walker, Connecticut, 6-1, 184, Jr.

A superb scoring guard who can also create for his teammates. Although he is undersized, he possesses a fast motor and can get to the rim at any given moment. Has excellent athleticism, speed, and lateral movement. Even at 6’1, he can still create his own shot and pull down rebounds (avg 5 rbs). Impressive late in games and isn’t afraid to take the big shot. He has matured and is NBA Ready. Won the Most Outstanding Player of the 2011 NCAA Tournament and reminds me of Allen Iverson.

1. Kyrie Irving, Duke, 6-3, 191, Fr.

Dude’s legit. By far the best point guard available in this draft and is compared to Chris Paul. He has the ball-skills to get anywhere in the paint and can facilitate an offense. Has a pretty good shot and can score in furies. He is a playmaker who will easily improve a team. All the tools to be an elite point guard in the NBA.

Can the Cardinals stay afloat now that All-World first baseman Albert Pujols looks to be out for at least a month?

If you’re a Cardinals fan, this is the devastating news you did not want to hear. Albert Pujols has been diagnosed with a small fracture in his left forearm and is scheduled to miss 4-6 weeks because of it. The injury happened yesterday after an errant throw from 2nd baseman Pete Kozma forced Pujols to come off the bag. Wilson Betemit, who had hit the chopper up the middle, ran into Pujols resulting in the aforementioned injury.

The Redbirds, who sit at 40-33 and are tied for 1st place in the NL Central with the Brewers, have got to be wondering how they are going to ride the ship for the next month or so without their best player. My take is that since David Freese is scheduled to come off of the DL next Tuesday against Baltimore, they can now shift Lance Berkman from right field to first base and have Jon Jay as an everyday-er until Albert gets back.

The Cardinals ended up winning the game yesterday against the Royals after Pujols left (up to that point, Pujols had gone 3-3 with his 17th HR of the year), 5-4, and have now won 2 in a row after dropping 7 straight for the first time since 2008. But are they going to be able to keep up in the Central now that the best hitter in their lineup, or anybody’s lineup for that matter, is no longer present? Luckily for them, unless the Cards go all Florida Marlins over the next 30 days, I do not foresee them having enough time to give up a lot of ground to the Brewers (or even the Reds) in the division. I still expect St. Louis to be sitting pretty for the second half of the season.

Like this:

IN all honesty, this is LONG overdue. For most of the divisions in baseball, before the season starts we know the 2 or 3 teams that will contend for the division titles. In order to make more teams competitive, the repositioning of the divisions in the MLB is needed. Any major form of realignment is at least 3 years away, around the 2014 season would be my guess. So what would these new divisions looks like? Perhaps something like this…

AL Northwest

AL North

AL Northeast

NL Central

NL Southeast

NL Northeast

Mariners

Twins

Mets

Padres

Nationals

Blue Jays

A’s

White Sox

Yankees

Diamondbacks

Cardinals

Indians

Giants

Cubs

Phillies

Rockies

Braves

Pirates

Dodgers

Brewers

Red Sox

Astros

Rays

Reds

Angels

Royals

Rangers

Marlins

Orioles

Tigers

Advantages

No single failure: No team is a sacrificial lamb to the Powers That Be in the current AL/NL East. If they want to have a bidding war over 1 Free Agent, let them.

14/16: keeping the even numbers in both divisions removes the need for a constant Interleague series.

Balance: Look at each of the new divisions… now try and predict which team will win each of the next 10 division titles. Pretty tricky huh?

Red Sox/Phillies/Yanks: 54 times a year? How can ESPN not like that?!

Disadvantages

Traditional rivalries are broken up, but that might make them more important/exciting.

Still 1 division that has 6 teams.

Designated hitter – Should it stay or go?

Whether or not you think I’m a genius or idiot, the fact that the MLB is seriously broken is undeniable. The ability for a small market, small salary team to win on a consistent basis is next to impossible. Until that major problem (along with the salary cap) is fixed, the team(s) with the most money will be the most consistent contender in the World Series for years to come.